Malaysia will offer tax incentives to encourage the exploration of less-profitable fields to boost revenue and extend the life of the country’s petroleum reserves.
The nation wants to attract oil and gas companies including state-owned Petroliam Nasional Bhd., or Petronas, to explore “marginal” fields, Second Finance Minister Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah said in an interview with Bloomberg yesterday. High exploration costs make some areas economically unviable.
“We are highly dependent” on oil revenue, Ahmad Husni said. “With the incentives, we’re confident that not only Petronas, but also the foreign petroleum companies, will continue their exploration.”
Malaysia’s oil and gas production has fallen for two straight years, declining to the equivalent of 1.63 million barrels of oil a day in the year ended March 31 from 1.66 million a day a year earlier, according to Petronas’s 2010 annual report. The country has tapped deepwater fields to increase reserves as energy demand rises.
“A lot of marginal oil fields were abandoned over the past few years, so giving a tax incentive will increase the possibility of more exploration,” said Arhnue Tan, an analyst at ECM Libra Capital Sdn. in Kuala Lumpur. “Oil prices at this level also make it potentially more profitable. The timing is just right.”
Two-Year High
Crude oil futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange have risen 10 percent this year, yesterday touching $88.63 a barrel, the highest level in two years.
Malaysia’s crude oil reserves may last 24 years based on current output levels, the finance ministry said in its 2010/2011 economic report on Oct. 15. The country has sufficient natural gas reserves for 38 years as of Jan. 1.
About 23 percent of Malaysia’s oil reserves are located in deepwater fields and close to 15 percent are in fields with high carbon dioxide content, Petronas said in the annual report.
“The oil reserves are there, but for them to do more exploration, they need the government support” to compensate for the higher drilling costs, said Ahmad Husni. The government has approved the initiative and it will be announced soon, he said, declining to give a specific time. While the tax income may initially fall, the amount of revenue to be generated later is “huge,” he said.
The government’s tax revenue from the petroleum industry will drop 33 percent to 18.3 billion ringgit this year, according to the economic report. Indonesia is the biggest oil and gas producer in Southeast Asia.
Saturday, 13 November 2010
Thursday, 11 November 2010
Petronas ups Tapis price factor to US$5.30
Petroliam Nasional Bhd, Malaysia’s state oil and gas company, increased a price-adjustment factor for its benchmark Tapis crude to a record for a third month.
Petronas, as the Kuala Lumpur-based company is known, raised the factor to US$5.30 a barrel for November, up from US$4.20 in October, said an official today, asking not to be identified because of corporate policy.
The factor averaged 59 cents last year and US$2.48 in 2008. - Bloomberg
Petronas, as the Kuala Lumpur-based company is known, raised the factor to US$5.30 a barrel for November, up from US$4.20 in October, said an official today, asking not to be identified because of corporate policy.
The factor averaged 59 cents last year and US$2.48 in 2008. - Bloomberg
Technip to launch RM600mil pipe-manufacturing plant in Johor
Technip Asia Pacific Sdn Bhd expects to launch a RM600mil flexible pipe-manufacturing plant in Tanjung Langsat, Johor, on Nov 25.
Technip Asia is a subsidiary of Pacific Technip SA of France which provides oil and gas-related engineering works and technology.
Technip Asia Pacific senior vice-president Edgar Pushparatnam said the plant had started operation and would reach its maximum annual output of 200km of pipes in 2013.
Pushparatnam said the plant would be the first of its kind in South-East Asia and was Technip’s third, after its facilities in Africa and Brazil.
“We command 60% to 70% of the global market for flexible pipes for the oil and gas industry and we expect the Johor plant to further strengthen our leadership position,” he told StarBiz yesterday.
The company expects flexible pipelines with diameters of four to 14 inches to be its most profitable products. “We expect this market segment to grow significantly over the years,” he added.
Compared with rigid pipelines, Pushparatnam said flexible pipelines were more resistant to corrosion, required less maintenance, easier and quicker to install and could be reused and extended.
However, he said, it doubled the cost of rigid pipelines.
Pushparatnam said the Johor plant would meet the demand for flexible pipelines in the oil and gas industry, for the replacement market (of rigid pipelines) and for deep-sea oil and gas explorations.
Technip supplies its flexible pipelines to several countries in Asia such as Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia.
Pushparatnam said he expected return on investment for the Johor plant to take five to seven years.
He said the company had started the second phase development of the Johor plant and had so far invested RM50mil.
“The completion of the second phase, costing about RM200mil, will take a year or so,” he said, adding that it would manufacture steel tubes and thermoplastic hoses, known as umbilicals, for the oil and gas industry.
Technip Asia is a subsidiary of Pacific Technip SA of France which provides oil and gas-related engineering works and technology.
Technip Asia Pacific senior vice-president Edgar Pushparatnam said the plant had started operation and would reach its maximum annual output of 200km of pipes in 2013.
Pushparatnam said the plant would be the first of its kind in South-East Asia and was Technip’s third, after its facilities in Africa and Brazil.
“We command 60% to 70% of the global market for flexible pipes for the oil and gas industry and we expect the Johor plant to further strengthen our leadership position,” he told StarBiz yesterday.
The company expects flexible pipelines with diameters of four to 14 inches to be its most profitable products. “We expect this market segment to grow significantly over the years,” he added.
Compared with rigid pipelines, Pushparatnam said flexible pipelines were more resistant to corrosion, required less maintenance, easier and quicker to install and could be reused and extended.
However, he said, it doubled the cost of rigid pipelines.
Pushparatnam said the Johor plant would meet the demand for flexible pipelines in the oil and gas industry, for the replacement market (of rigid pipelines) and for deep-sea oil and gas explorations.
Technip supplies its flexible pipelines to several countries in Asia such as Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia.
Pushparatnam said he expected return on investment for the Johor plant to take five to seven years.
He said the company had started the second phase development of the Johor plant and had so far invested RM50mil.
“The completion of the second phase, costing about RM200mil, will take a year or so,” he said, adding that it would manufacture steel tubes and thermoplastic hoses, known as umbilicals, for the oil and gas industry.
Wednesday, 10 November 2010
Ex-CEO says BP was unprepared for oil spill
Former BP PLC chief Tony Hayward has acknowledged that the company was unprepared for the disastrous Gulf of Mexico oil spill and the media frenzy it spawned, and said the firm came close to financial disaster as its credit sources evaporated.
In an interview with the BBC broadcast Tuesday, Hayward said the company's contingency plans were inadequate and "we were making it up day to day."
"What was going on was some extraordinary engineering," he told the broadcaster in an hour-long program devoted to the spill. "But when it was played out in the full glare of the media as it was, of course, it looked like fumbling and incompetence."
An April 20 explosion aboard a Gulf oil rig killed 11 workers and kicked off the worst oil spill in U.S. history.
Hayward said BP was "not prepared to deal with the intensity of the media scrutiny" it faced as millions of barrels of oil poured into the ocean and washed up on shore.
Hayward left his post last month after taking much of the flak for BP's poor public handling of the disaster. Gaffes, including his statement that "I want my life back," were ridiculed in the U.S. media and seized on by critics of BP.
Hayward said he was "pretty angry" at the personal vilification.
"If I had done a degree at RADA (The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art) rather than a degree in geology, I may have done better, but I'm not certain it would've changed the outcome," he said.
He defended his much-criticized decision to take part in a yacht race with his family at the height of the crisis, saying he had not seen his son for three months and had only been aboard for six hours.
"I'm not certain I'd do anything different," Hayward said.
He said BP had found itself unable to borrow from international investors during the spill crisis, threatening its finances. He said that before a meeting with President Barack Obama at the White House in June, "the capital markets were effectively closed to BP."
"We were not able to borrow in the capital markets, either short- or medium-term debt at all, " he said. "It was a classic financial crisis issue."
Hayward's successor, Bob Dudley, told the program that "these were frightening days" for BP.
"With a company the size of BP, its reputation, what it does — you almost can't quite believe how close you are" to financial disaster, Dudley said. "Bank of America called — wouldn't buy crude from us. Suppliers were asking for money up front. This was a very unusual environment for BP. It was a very, very intense period."
Dudley and Hayward also detailed their interactions with the White House, whose anti-BP statements Hayward in part blamed for pushing the company to the brink of disaster. But he described the June 16 meeting with Obama — during which BP agreed to set up a $20 billion fund for victims of the Gulf oil spill and suspend its dividend — as civil.
"It wasn't confrontational, it wasn't aggressive. It was practical and workmanlike," Hayward said. He added that the meeting also yielded what he called an "almost unspoken agreement" that the White House would cool its rhetoric.
Dudley used the program to defend the company's safety record, saying that a series of disasters — including the deadly 2005 explosion at BP's refinery in Texas City, the near-sinking of one of its flagship rigs a few months later and the huge oil spill in Alaska in 2006 — were not related.
"The company has always had this strong, strong ethos around safety," Dudley said. "It's also had a business model that drives for performance. And we've got to continue to find that right - AP
In an interview with the BBC broadcast Tuesday, Hayward said the company's contingency plans were inadequate and "we were making it up day to day."
"What was going on was some extraordinary engineering," he told the broadcaster in an hour-long program devoted to the spill. "But when it was played out in the full glare of the media as it was, of course, it looked like fumbling and incompetence."
An April 20 explosion aboard a Gulf oil rig killed 11 workers and kicked off the worst oil spill in U.S. history.
Hayward said BP was "not prepared to deal with the intensity of the media scrutiny" it faced as millions of barrels of oil poured into the ocean and washed up on shore.
Hayward left his post last month after taking much of the flak for BP's poor public handling of the disaster. Gaffes, including his statement that "I want my life back," were ridiculed in the U.S. media and seized on by critics of BP.
Hayward said he was "pretty angry" at the personal vilification.
"If I had done a degree at RADA (The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art) rather than a degree in geology, I may have done better, but I'm not certain it would've changed the outcome," he said.
He defended his much-criticized decision to take part in a yacht race with his family at the height of the crisis, saying he had not seen his son for three months and had only been aboard for six hours.
"I'm not certain I'd do anything different," Hayward said.
He said BP had found itself unable to borrow from international investors during the spill crisis, threatening its finances. He said that before a meeting with President Barack Obama at the White House in June, "the capital markets were effectively closed to BP."
"We were not able to borrow in the capital markets, either short- or medium-term debt at all, " he said. "It was a classic financial crisis issue."
Hayward's successor, Bob Dudley, told the program that "these were frightening days" for BP.
"With a company the size of BP, its reputation, what it does — you almost can't quite believe how close you are" to financial disaster, Dudley said. "Bank of America called — wouldn't buy crude from us. Suppliers were asking for money up front. This was a very unusual environment for BP. It was a very, very intense period."
Dudley and Hayward also detailed their interactions with the White House, whose anti-BP statements Hayward in part blamed for pushing the company to the brink of disaster. But he described the June 16 meeting with Obama — during which BP agreed to set up a $20 billion fund for victims of the Gulf oil spill and suspend its dividend — as civil.
"It wasn't confrontational, it wasn't aggressive. It was practical and workmanlike," Hayward said. He added that the meeting also yielded what he called an "almost unspoken agreement" that the White House would cool its rhetoric.
Dudley used the program to defend the company's safety record, saying that a series of disasters — including the deadly 2005 explosion at BP's refinery in Texas City, the near-sinking of one of its flagship rigs a few months later and the huge oil spill in Alaska in 2006 — were not related.
"The company has always had this strong, strong ethos around safety," Dudley said. "It's also had a business model that drives for performance. And we've got to continue to find that right - AP
Sunday, 7 November 2010
Petronas Chemicals to expand capacity
Petronas Chemicals, soon-to-be-listed arm of Petronas, plans to carry out selective acquisitions in the mid-to-long term.
Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd (PCGB) (6033), one of the largest petrochemicals producer in Southeast Asia, plans to grow by expanding its production capacity and carrying out selective acquisitions in the mid-to-long term.
PCGB is the soon-to-be-listed petrochemicals arm of Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas).
"In the medium to longer term, we will look to expand our product portfolio and production capacity - including through the development of new production plants using gas and alternate types of feedstock - as well as potentially synergistic and prudent acquisitions to pursue growth," it said in its draft prospectus released yesterday.
It may consider opportunities outside Malaysia, it added.
PCGB, made up of 22 petrochemical-related companies within the Petronas group, has total assets of about RM27 billion as at end-March.
Its net profit fell by a quarter to RM2.6 billion in the financial year to March 31 compared with RM3.4 billion in the year before.
Revenue declined to RM12.2 billion from RM12.4 billion before.
Datuk Tengku Mahamad Tengku Mahamut, 56, a director of several companies within the Petronas group, has been named president and chief executive officer of PCGB.
PCGB is currently considering expanding its operations in Sabah and Sarawak to take advantage of the natural gas feedstock available in that region.
For instance, it may develop a world-scale greenfield ammonia and urea production facility there.
"This project is currently at a pre-feasibility study phase, and we expect to make a final decision in fiscal year 2012 whether to proceed with the investment," PCGB said.
On top of that, it also expects to get more closely involved with a greenfield project that Petronas is currently evaluating.
The project is to develop an integrated refinery and petrochemicals complex in Peninsular Malaysia, together with international partners, to produce products like naphtha that can be used as feedstock for petrochemical products.
PCGB's draft prospectus did not give details on the size of the listing, but it has been reported that it may raise about US$2 billion (RM6.24 billion) from the exercise.
PCGB is one of two Petronas subsidiaries slated for a listing on Bursa Malaysia this year, the other being Malaysian Marine and Heavy Engineering Sdn Bhd, which is expected to be listed next month.
CIMB Investment Bank Bhd was appointed as PCGB's principal adviser and managing underwriter, with Deutsche Bank AG and Morgan Stanley & Co helping as joint global coordinators and bookrunners.
Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd (PCGB) (6033), one of the largest petrochemicals producer in Southeast Asia, plans to grow by expanding its production capacity and carrying out selective acquisitions in the mid-to-long term.
PCGB is the soon-to-be-listed petrochemicals arm of Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas).
"In the medium to longer term, we will look to expand our product portfolio and production capacity - including through the development of new production plants using gas and alternate types of feedstock - as well as potentially synergistic and prudent acquisitions to pursue growth," it said in its draft prospectus released yesterday.
It may consider opportunities outside Malaysia, it added.
PCGB, made up of 22 petrochemical-related companies within the Petronas group, has total assets of about RM27 billion as at end-March.
Its net profit fell by a quarter to RM2.6 billion in the financial year to March 31 compared with RM3.4 billion in the year before.
Revenue declined to RM12.2 billion from RM12.4 billion before.
Datuk Tengku Mahamad Tengku Mahamut, 56, a director of several companies within the Petronas group, has been named president and chief executive officer of PCGB.
PCGB is currently considering expanding its operations in Sabah and Sarawak to take advantage of the natural gas feedstock available in that region.
For instance, it may develop a world-scale greenfield ammonia and urea production facility there.
"This project is currently at a pre-feasibility study phase, and we expect to make a final decision in fiscal year 2012 whether to proceed with the investment," PCGB said.
On top of that, it also expects to get more closely involved with a greenfield project that Petronas is currently evaluating.
The project is to develop an integrated refinery and petrochemicals complex in Peninsular Malaysia, together with international partners, to produce products like naphtha that can be used as feedstock for petrochemical products.
PCGB's draft prospectus did not give details on the size of the listing, but it has been reported that it may raise about US$2 billion (RM6.24 billion) from the exercise.
PCGB is one of two Petronas subsidiaries slated for a listing on Bursa Malaysia this year, the other being Malaysian Marine and Heavy Engineering Sdn Bhd, which is expected to be listed next month.
CIMB Investment Bank Bhd was appointed as PCGB's principal adviser and managing underwriter, with Deutsche Bank AG and Morgan Stanley & Co helping as joint global coordinators and bookrunners.
Saturday, 6 November 2010
Saipem awarded offshore contracts worth €700m
Saipem, Italian turn-key contractor for the oil and gas industries, has been awarded project contracts in both Europe and Africa.
In Nigeria, Saipem has been awarded a subcontract for the Critical Crude Pipeline Replacement Project in Nigeria, in which the scope of work encompasses fabrication, transportation, installation and testing of the replacement of six pipelines connecting six platforms in an offshore field, for a total length of 85km, including shore approach and bridges.
The marine activities will be carried out between the fourth quarter of 2010 and the second quarter of 2011, mainly by the Crawler vessel.
In Spain, UTE ACS Cobra Castor awarded Saipem the Offshore Construction Gas Pipeline contract as part of the Castor Underground Gas Storage Development Project for the delivery of onshore and offshore facilities for the compression, transportation, storage, production, treatment and reinjection of natural gas into the public grid.
Saipem’s scope of work will encompass the installation of a 30in diameter offshore pipeline approximately 22km from land in mainland Spain at Vinaroz to the offshore field where the WHP platform, installed by Saipem 7000 in August 2010, is located.
Offshore activities will be performed between the end of 2011 and the first quarter of 2012.
In Nigeria, Saipem has been awarded a subcontract for the Critical Crude Pipeline Replacement Project in Nigeria, in which the scope of work encompasses fabrication, transportation, installation and testing of the replacement of six pipelines connecting six platforms in an offshore field, for a total length of 85km, including shore approach and bridges.
The marine activities will be carried out between the fourth quarter of 2010 and the second quarter of 2011, mainly by the Crawler vessel.
In Spain, UTE ACS Cobra Castor awarded Saipem the Offshore Construction Gas Pipeline contract as part of the Castor Underground Gas Storage Development Project for the delivery of onshore and offshore facilities for the compression, transportation, storage, production, treatment and reinjection of natural gas into the public grid.
Saipem’s scope of work will encompass the installation of a 30in diameter offshore pipeline approximately 22km from land in mainland Spain at Vinaroz to the offshore field where the WHP platform, installed by Saipem 7000 in August 2010, is located.
Offshore activities will be performed between the end of 2011 and the first quarter of 2012.
Friday, 5 November 2010
Murphy Oil net rises 7 pct, revenue rises 17 pct
Murphy Oil Corp.'s net income rose 7 percent and revenue rose 17 percent as the company benefited from higher prices for natural gas and crude oil. But higher exploration and extraction costs and lower sales volumes were reasons why the third-quarter results fell short of Wall Street's forecasts, and shares slipped.
The oil company's net income was $202.8 million, or $1.05 per share, short of the $1.10 per share that analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expected. A year ago, the company earned $188.9 million, or 98 cents per share.
Revenue rose 17 percent to $6.06 billion, also short of analysts' predictions. Analysts expected $6.3 billion.
The stock fell 62 cents to $65.10 in after-hours trading, after falling 13 cents to finish the regular trading session at $65.72.
The oil company's net income was $202.8 million, or $1.05 per share, short of the $1.10 per share that analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expected. A year ago, the company earned $188.9 million, or 98 cents per share.
Revenue rose 17 percent to $6.06 billion, also short of analysts' predictions. Analysts expected $6.3 billion.
The stock fell 62 cents to $65.10 in after-hours trading, after falling 13 cents to finish the regular trading session at $65.72.
Thursday, 4 November 2010
PCG may invest US$1bil in facility
Company to decide on ammonia project in FY 2012
Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd (PCG) may invest up to US$1bil in a greenfield ammonia and urea production facility in Sabah to enhance its profile as a key ammonia and urea producer in South-East Asia, said its top executive.
PCG chairman Datuk Wan Zulkiflee Wan Ariffin said the project was currently at a pre-feasibility study phase and PCG would make a final investment decision in financial year 2012.
“We have not sanctioned the project yet and hope to do it by the next financial year, with a targeted commissioning date in 2015/2016. The investment for the facility will be between US$900mil and US$1bil,” he told reporters after PCG’s prospectus launch yesterday.
Proceeds from the initial public offering may be used for this facility as well as a greenfield project to develop an integrated refinery and petrochemicals complex in Peninsular Malaysia.
PCG could potentially raise gross proceeds of RM3.54bil from the issuance of 700 million new shares at a retail price of RM5.05. From the RM3.54bil, 63.3% would be used to expand PCG’s business and synergistic growth acquisitions within five years.
The company would issue a total of 2.48 billion shares under its initial public offering (IPO), of which 1.78 billion would be existing shares and 700 million would be new.
The retail price is RM5.05 while the institutional price would be determined through a bookbuilding exercise, which is ongoing and will end on Nov 12.
The gross proceeds of RM8.99bil from the existing 1.78 billion shares would go back into Petroliam Nasional Bhd’s (Petronas) coffers and be utilised by the group for capital expenditure, said Petronas executive vice-president for finance Datuk George Ratilal.
PCG’s two cornerstone investors, the Employees Provident Fund and Kumpulan Wang Persaraan, would take up 445 million shares, or 18%, of the 2.48 billion shares offered under its IPO.
Wan Zulkiflee said the company was on the start of an up-cycle that would continue until 2015 and that PCG was more focus on captive markets and pushing towards differentiated and specialised products.
PCG has a total of 22 companies producing a wide range of petrochemical products such as olefins, polymers, fertilisers and methanol.
The petrochemical industry has generated some US$3 trillion in revenue globally last year and is expected to grow at an average of 4.9% from 2010 to 2015.
Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said in a speech at the prospectus launch yesterday that the Petronas group could collectively account for over 10% of Bursa Malaysia’s total market capitalisation and over 16% of the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KL Composite Index.
“The listing (by PCG) is expected to be one of the largest ever undertaken in South-East Asia and will contribute significantly to the expansion of Malaysia’s capital markets by increasing the liquidity needed to fuel economic growth,” he said.
Muhyiddin said that government-linked investment companies were to divest their shareholdings in major companies listed on the stock exchange as a way to increase liquidity and trading velocity in the market.
Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd (PCG) may invest up to US$1bil in a greenfield ammonia and urea production facility in Sabah to enhance its profile as a key ammonia and urea producer in South-East Asia, said its top executive.
PCG chairman Datuk Wan Zulkiflee Wan Ariffin said the project was currently at a pre-feasibility study phase and PCG would make a final investment decision in financial year 2012.
“We have not sanctioned the project yet and hope to do it by the next financial year, with a targeted commissioning date in 2015/2016. The investment for the facility will be between US$900mil and US$1bil,” he told reporters after PCG’s prospectus launch yesterday.
Proceeds from the initial public offering may be used for this facility as well as a greenfield project to develop an integrated refinery and petrochemicals complex in Peninsular Malaysia.
PCG could potentially raise gross proceeds of RM3.54bil from the issuance of 700 million new shares at a retail price of RM5.05. From the RM3.54bil, 63.3% would be used to expand PCG’s business and synergistic growth acquisitions within five years.
The company would issue a total of 2.48 billion shares under its initial public offering (IPO), of which 1.78 billion would be existing shares and 700 million would be new.
The retail price is RM5.05 while the institutional price would be determined through a bookbuilding exercise, which is ongoing and will end on Nov 12.
The gross proceeds of RM8.99bil from the existing 1.78 billion shares would go back into Petroliam Nasional Bhd’s (Petronas) coffers and be utilised by the group for capital expenditure, said Petronas executive vice-president for finance Datuk George Ratilal.
PCG’s two cornerstone investors, the Employees Provident Fund and Kumpulan Wang Persaraan, would take up 445 million shares, or 18%, of the 2.48 billion shares offered under its IPO.
Wan Zulkiflee said the company was on the start of an up-cycle that would continue until 2015 and that PCG was more focus on captive markets and pushing towards differentiated and specialised products.
PCG has a total of 22 companies producing a wide range of petrochemical products such as olefins, polymers, fertilisers and methanol.
The petrochemical industry has generated some US$3 trillion in revenue globally last year and is expected to grow at an average of 4.9% from 2010 to 2015.
Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said in a speech at the prospectus launch yesterday that the Petronas group could collectively account for over 10% of Bursa Malaysia’s total market capitalisation and over 16% of the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KL Composite Index.
“The listing (by PCG) is expected to be one of the largest ever undertaken in South-East Asia and will contribute significantly to the expansion of Malaysia’s capital markets by increasing the liquidity needed to fuel economic growth,” he said.
Muhyiddin said that government-linked investment companies were to divest their shareholdings in major companies listed on the stock exchange as a way to increase liquidity and trading velocity in the market.
Wednesday, 3 November 2010
Petronas Gas appoints 4 new directors after 2 resigned
Petronas Gas Bhd has appointed four new directors following the resignation of two directors, namely Datuk Mohammed Azhar Osman Khairuddin and Farehana Hanapiah.
It told Bursa Malaysia that the newly appointed non-independent and non-executive directors were Rosli Boni, Mohammad Medan Abdullah, Ramlan Abdul Malek and Lau Nai Tuang.
Mohammed Azhar also resigned as a Petronas Gas audit committee member. Rosli was appointed a new audit committee member.
Rosli is currently serving as the deputy chief executive officer with Malaysia Thailand Joint Authority, on secondment from Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas).
Media is Petronas senior general manager (corporate services division), Ramlan is vice-president of petroleum management (exploration and production business), and Lau is vice-president of infrastructure and utilities (gas business).
In August, Petronas Gas announced the appointment of Datuk Anuar Ahmad as chairman, replacing Datuk Wan Zulkiflee Wan Ariffin.
It told Bursa Malaysia that the newly appointed non-independent and non-executive directors were Rosli Boni, Mohammad Medan Abdullah, Ramlan Abdul Malek and Lau Nai Tuang.
Mohammed Azhar also resigned as a Petronas Gas audit committee member. Rosli was appointed a new audit committee member.
Rosli is currently serving as the deputy chief executive officer with Malaysia Thailand Joint Authority, on secondment from Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas).
Media is Petronas senior general manager (corporate services division), Ramlan is vice-president of petroleum management (exploration and production business), and Lau is vice-president of infrastructure and utilities (gas business).
In August, Petronas Gas announced the appointment of Datuk Anuar Ahmad as chairman, replacing Datuk Wan Zulkiflee Wan Ariffin.
Tuesday, 2 November 2010
Petronas to expand Malacca plant for high-grade fuel
* Expansion to produce Euro IV fuels, meet future demand
* Refinery to process more sour crude as output falls
* New hydrocracker started operation in Q3 (Adds details)
Petronas plans to expand and upgrade its Malacca refinery to produce higher-quality fuel and meet rising demand after recently raising the plant's capacity to 290,000 barrels per day (bpd), industry sources said on Thursday.
The project comes as several other refiners have revived or are considering expansions. Around 5.1 million bpd of net refining capacity is likely to be added between 2011 and 2015, according to Wood Mackenzie.
Upgrades will allow Petronas [PETR.UL] to process more sour crude at the refining complex, as the country's sweet crude production declines, one of the sources said.
The study, which will determine the capacity and investment costs, is expected to be completed in first-quarter next year, he said.
The company could not be immediately reached for official comment.
The expansion will be carried out at the refinery's Train 1, which has a design capacity of 100,000 bpd, but operates at 120,000 bpd and processes only locally produced sweet crude, the source said.
EURO IV FUELS
Petronas plans to produce Euro-IV gasoline and diesel at the refinery ahead of a possible government mandate to raise fuel standards in the country, the source said.
"Industry players are talking to the government although there is no specific date," he said.
The company is also looking at increasing capacity to meet stronger demand in the future, he said.
The project includes increasing the refinery's base oil output, he said. Petronas has a 300,000 tonne-per-year (tpy) Group III base oil plant at Malacca.
In the third quarter, Petronas started operations at a new 50,000-bpd hydrocracker which raised the overall refining capacity at Train 2 to 170,000 bpd, the source said.
Petronas owns 53 percent of the refinery while U.S. oil company ConocoPhillips (COP.N) holds the remaining stake.
* Refinery to process more sour crude as output falls
* New hydrocracker started operation in Q3 (Adds details)
Petronas plans to expand and upgrade its Malacca refinery to produce higher-quality fuel and meet rising demand after recently raising the plant's capacity to 290,000 barrels per day (bpd), industry sources said on Thursday.
The project comes as several other refiners have revived or are considering expansions. Around 5.1 million bpd of net refining capacity is likely to be added between 2011 and 2015, according to Wood Mackenzie.
Upgrades will allow Petronas [PETR.UL] to process more sour crude at the refining complex, as the country's sweet crude production declines, one of the sources said.
The study, which will determine the capacity and investment costs, is expected to be completed in first-quarter next year, he said.
The company could not be immediately reached for official comment.
The expansion will be carried out at the refinery's Train 1, which has a design capacity of 100,000 bpd, but operates at 120,000 bpd and processes only locally produced sweet crude, the source said.
EURO IV FUELS
Petronas plans to produce Euro-IV gasoline and diesel at the refinery ahead of a possible government mandate to raise fuel standards in the country, the source said.
"Industry players are talking to the government although there is no specific date," he said.
The company is also looking at increasing capacity to meet stronger demand in the future, he said.
The project includes increasing the refinery's base oil output, he said. Petronas has a 300,000 tonne-per-year (tpy) Group III base oil plant at Malacca.
In the third quarter, Petronas started operations at a new 50,000-bpd hydrocracker which raised the overall refining capacity at Train 2 to 170,000 bpd, the source said.
Petronas owns 53 percent of the refinery while U.S. oil company ConocoPhillips (COP.N) holds the remaining stake.
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